Sudden collapse
by StitchWitch
Summary: A new war has begun in Lefania, And the final battle is soon. But Himeno, under too much stress, collapses. How can the knights bring her back to fighting strength? And just how is Hayate taking this? T For serious depression later on.
1. The Collapse

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! I Wish I did. Then I could cuddle Sasame.

Anyway, this was inspired by thinking about the way Himeno's life is. I coulden't resist, so here you go, the first chapter to a story that (hopefully) will get finished.

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"Sasame, we can't risk that. The troops are coming in here, too, and the strongest force is-" Hayate was interrupted by Goh, who's temper was flaring.

"Hayate, will you shut up! Sasame is the one who knows more than all of us about tactics!" The redhead snarled.

"Goh, I'm only trying to point out that the main army is gonna be the hardest to beat!" Hayate argued back. The other knights just stayed silent, letting the two argue. But slowly it kept growing, until everyone was arguing. Himeno arrived in the middle of it, just in time to hear some choice comments by most of the group on her, coming from the mouths of all but Hayate and Sasame. Her shadow brought them to silence, looking up to see the pretear.

"Himeno…" Goh realized that Himeno must have heard what he said, as his had been one of the nastier remarks. But the pink haired girl just looked at them, tears welling up in her eyes, before turning and running away from the small glen, back into the forest of Lefania.

"Nice going! I'll go after her, damnit. You better not have hurt her too much!" Hayate snarled at Goh, standing and running after Himeno. The remaining knights blinked.

"Did he just… but… he…" Goh looked a little stunned. Sasame managed a smile.

"You didn't notice the fact he loved her? Even though he kissed her? Goh…" He shook his head. The younger set was asleep, so it was safe to talk about stuff like this, thankfully. Goh nodded.

"Well.. he's… just…" Goh looked confused as the others laughed at him.

Himeno was running as fast as she could, flying through the forest like a deer. The sound of her sobs didn't carry far in the dense brush. She was running from the hurt, from what she heard so often lately. Lefania was under attack again, and she had been here for almost a month. Tomorrow was the big day that would decide the fate of Lefania. The battle plan sessions had been getting heated for a while- she had heard all the remarks, about her failures and otherwise. She had held up as long as she could. But Goh's remark hurt too much. The words circled around her mind. **Himeno always ends up getting one of us hurt. She shouldn't be allowed to prêt for this battle, she should just die in it or something! **The words wouldn't leave her alone. She finally tripped on something, measuring her length on the ground. She drew herself up, intending to stand, but then she felt the wind. She looked up, now-reddened eyes darting.

"Himeno?" Hayate's voice wrapped around her as the Wind Knight landed beside her.

"I'm fine.. just go away.." She said softly. Hayate realized she was hiding more than hurt at the one remark, knowing somehow. Not sure how, he hugged her, picking her up.

"Himeno, you aren't fine. You're crying." He brushed her tears away, looking down at her, then jumping and starting to fly. He flew in silence, cradling Himeno. She was hurting inside, and outside. Recently she had been ambushed- she had come close to death. While she was fine now, her arm was still healing. It had been broken after all. He realized this suddenly, not knowing how he knew. He gently landed near a house, one that was obviously intended for one person only. It was his, one he built by himself for days when he needed time away from the other knights. As he landed, Himeno roused from her depressed silence.

"Who's house?" She asked softly, blinking and looking at the small structure. Hayate smiled, carrying her in.

"Mine. I built it a long time ago for when I needed to get away from the others." He said, trying to evict a reaction.

"Oh." That was her only response. He set her down on the only bed, where she simply lay like a broken doll. Her pink eyes were normally vibrant and full of life, full of craziness. But now they were hollow and empty of emotion, like something had broken inside of her. He wasn't surprised, the remarks at the council hadn't been kind- plus, he had the feeling she had overheard other arguments. She had been spiraling towards this for a while- if only he had noticed this before, then things wouldn't be so bad. But now he had to patch up the prêtear. He had to bring back the girl he loved and cherished, but didn't know how. He gently tucked her under the covers- she was obviously sick with grief.

"Sleep." He said softly. She blinked.

"Okay.." She fell into sleep immediately, and Hayate flew back to the group, heart heavy.

As Hayate landed, the other nights and Takako greeted him, asking for news of the Prêtear in a chorus. Hayate sighed, motioning for them all to sit. They did, and he plopped down on a rock.

"She's alive- though that's hard to believe. But.. she's seriously depressed. She isn't anything like normal, and right now she's asleep somewhere safe." He looked around at all of them.

"Why not bring her back? That way we can all help nee-chan!" Shin asked, the little boy's eyes filled with worry. Hayate sighed.

"Shin… you missed what happened, but remember how you kept catching her crying? I think she needs to be alone with just one person, with chances to rest. We've been working her too hard and she's too selfless to tell us." Hayate explained.

"Oh.. so it wasn't just me.." Goh said, sounding relieved. Sasame shook his head.

"I think it was most of us. Think about it- we've all lost our tempers with her and with one another quite a lot lately. She's always the peace maker. Hayate is right, she needs a break from dealing with all of us." Sasame agreed. Kei growled.

"Honestly Sasame, why Hayate be her guardian?" The blonde knight growled. Takako giggled.

"She's in love with him. If anyone can take her out of this, he can." She said, her tone implying that it was obvious. Hayate blushed.

"Well anyway… I'll show you where she is, so you can bring food and such.. but no visits without telling me." He said quickly. The others nodded, and they took off.

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I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Please tell me how you like it and any ideas that might help.

Please keep in mind that I rarely read reviews. If you want to write me, and be sure I get it, Email or PM me. Cheers!


	2. Himeno Awakes

When Hayate returned to the small house where Himeno lay, the girl was still asleep. He sat on a chair by the bed, looking down at her and sighing as he took a good look at her face. It had thinned out too much over the course of the war- her cheeks were hollowed, her hair lacking it's luster. Her entire body seemed too thin, and he sighed, feeling guilty. He was the leader of the knights- why hadn't he noticed her state before? Why hadn't he bothered to really look at her instead of simply glance at her, take her for granted? As she slept she was curled up, underneath the blankets like a small child. He reached out and felt her forehead, relaxing when her temperature was only slightly higher. Perhaps she would be alright…

"no.." She whispered as she slept, talking to something in her dream. She sounded like she was going to cry, and Hayate couldn't help but reach out and gently brush her hair from her face.

"Shh… I'm here Himeno." He said, trying to make his voice soothing. The pink haired girl murmured softly, relaxing some. He sighed. _Himeno.. I'm so sorry.. how could I have not noticed how bad you felt? _He thought, looking at the way she curled up, hiding her face from the world. She was mumbling in her sleep, struggling with something in her dream.

"NO!" She woke with that one, strong word, sitting up and looking around wildly. When she saw Hayate she relaxed some, chest heaving. He reached out tentatively, touching her shoulder.

"Himeno.. are you okay?"

"I- I- I'm fine. Just a bad dream." There she went again with her mask of happiness. Hayate looked at her in a way that made it hard to lie.

"Are you sure? You sure sounded scared." He said quietly.

"I'm positive. Where am I, anyway? Hehe, I kinda lost my temper earlier. Sorry!" She was chattering, eyes strangely bright. Her face was flushed and she seemed to be breathing much faster than normal. She also had shoved the blankets off of her, and it was chilly in the small room. Hayate frowned, reading the little clues. She only acted over talkative when she was A) Feeling really bad and trying to hide it, or B) pretty darn sick.

"You are at my house, and hold still." Hayate told her, putting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her down on the bed. He went and got a thermometer, bringing it back. She looked at him.

"Why do you have a thermometer? I don't need it! I'm just fine." She said grumpily. He popped it into her open mouth and held her still. It beeped, and he almost cursed when he read the temperature- 103 degrees farenheight. He got some advil and brought it over.

"You are going to take two of these and go to sleep." He ordered Himeno. The pink haired girl rolled her eyes, obeying the pill part.

"I'm not tired, we need to get back to the others! They need our help, I mean…." Hayate put a hand over her mouth.

"They won't fight without you, and you need rest. Sleep." He said calmly, pushing her down on the bed into a prone position, and pulling the covers over her. She sighed, but gave up as drowsiness sank in at her position. She fell into slumber, and he sighed, looking at her. _How am I going to get you well Himeno? Especially when you won't even tell me what's going on inside your head?_

**Thanks tons for waiting for this chapter. I'm working (slowly) on a number of fics due to the fact that I keep getting plot bunnies.**

**Peace!**


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